On April 2, 2009, an imprisoned juvenile and a non-profit institution representing disabled persons filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Mississippi under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center. The plaintiffs, represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, asked the court for injunctive and declaratory relief, claiming dangerously unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

Specifically, the juvenile prisoner claimed physical and psychological abuse from staff; mold, excrement and insect infestations; overcrowded facilities; excessive room confinement; as well as arbitrary and punitive discipline practices. The non-profit institution, Mississippi Protection & Advocacy System, Inc., claimed that they were denied all access to the juvenile prisoners who had a right to their services under the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act of 1986.

On April 20, 2009, the plaintiff filed a motion to certify class. On August 18th, 2009, a joint motion for settlement was filed. On October 13, 2009, the court (Judge Louis Guirola, Jr.) granted the motion for approval of the settlement agreement, granted the certification of the class for settlement purposes, and dismissed the matter without prejudice.

Kathryn DeLong - 11/06/2014


compress summary